Butterflies
by xoAlmostFamous
Summary: Shane is my best friend slash secret crush of 329048 years. Well, it's felt that long, anyway. ShaneMitchie. AU.
1. I Got a Crush on You

**Butterflies**

**Pairing: Shane/Mitchie**

**Authored by: xoAlmostFamous**

**A/N: Yeah, I'm back. With another full-lengther :) I sat down to write a oneshot, and this is what came out. Please let me know what you think!**

**-Caitlin**

Have you ever seen the movie Never Been Kissed?

It's about a twentysomething journalist who goes undercover and back to high school for an article she's writing. Anyway, she was a total loser her first time around, so she tries to be popular. A couple "special" brownies and fashion disasters later, she ends up falling for her teacher, and eventually getting her first kiss.

Of course, the movie is a little bit more complicated than that, but it's one of my favorites.

Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I always thought I would have a high school sweetheart. Or, you know, even a boyfriend.

But here I am, three weeks to my high school graduation, single and never been kissed.

It's not that I'm complaining. I mean, I've done pretty well so far without a guy in my life. I'm a straight A student and captain of the tennis team. I'm also a decorated mathlete.

I don't really advertise that, though.

It's just, I'm eighteen years old, and GRADUATING. It's kind of a rite of passage.

It's not that I haven't tried. It's just that the only guy I have ever been interesting in kissing is my best friend.

"Hey Mitchie!"

Speak of the devil. Leave it up to Shane to interrupt my thoughts. It's weird though, him coming in to the library. I didn't think he even knew where it was.

Shane Gray is my best friend slash secret crush of 329047834 years. Okay, it might be a little bit shorter than that. Maybe it's only been four. But it feels like that long.

I've known Shane since we were little freshmen. I didn't know where the cafeteria was, and he generously showed me the way, and then let me sit at his table with him and his friends.

I think it was about then when my crush on him started. And I couldn't shake the feeling. It's kind of pathetic, really.

"Uh, Mitch? Are you with us?"

Shane's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Just thinking."

He made a funny face. "You shouldn't do that so much. It will make you wrinkly faster."

I smacked his shoulder and stuck my tongue out at him. "Meanie."

He laughed and the butterflies in my stomach went crazy. "Don't worry, Mitchie. Even when you're an old and wrinkly cat lady, I'll still love you."

"Wow. Thanks. I feel SO much better." I deadpanned.

"No problem. Anytime. Hey, can I copy your calculus homework?"

I scowled. "No way! That's the third time this week. I have to draw the line somewhere."

He put his hands together like he was praying. "Pretty please, Mitch. If you let me copy, I'll play you my song that I'm writing later."

I threw my head in my hands and groaned. That's another thing about Shane. He sings and plays guitar. He also writes all of his own music. I mean, it's hard to say no to that offer.

"I don't know, Shane. I really don't like that you copy off of me all of the time." I replied with all my willpower.

A look of real apology entered his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mitch. I shouldn't have asked you. You're too good of a best friend for me, you know that?"

I sighed. Best friend. "Oh, believe me. I know." A smile started to form on my face.

He grinned widely. "Well, I'll still play you my song later. I do want to know what you think about it."

Stupid butterflies. "Okay, I'll be over around six-ish, if that's alright."

He looked shocked. "What, no Geeks Anonymous meeting tonight?"

Offended, I gasped teasingly. "It is called the Mathletes, and no, we are not meeting tonight, thank you very much."

He snorted. "Yeah, mathletes is SO much better. Look, I gotta go, but I'll see you tonight, okay?"

I smiled slightly. "Okay. See you then."

As he was leaving. I sighed heavily. Stupid Shane. Stupid butterflies. Stupid crush.

Stupid me.

**A/N: Sooo… yeah. This story won't be all that long, probably around ten or fifteen chapters. By the way, Mitchie and Shane are the same age in this story, and obviously, it's AU. Just a fun little project I'm working on, but I would love to know what you guys think!**

**Please review!**

**-Caitlin :)**


	2. Lovebug

**A/N: So, not a lot of people reviewed the first chapter, but that's fine (: I'm glad those than reviewed enjoyed it! This chapter will be more development into their relationship. **

**Review! (:**

**-Caitlin**

"It's ugly."

I gaped at my mom's rude answer. "Wh-what do you mean?"

My mom scoffed, but then smiled. It was most likely an attempt to tell me she really wasn't trying to be mean. "Honey, you look like a cross between going to the gym and trampy Sandy from Grease."

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. My outfit, consisting of a jean skirt, leggings, boots, and a one-shouldered sweatshirt, was carefully coordinated between cute and trying not to care. "I like it."

My mom put down the dish she was cleaning, and then gave me her best 'Are you Serious?' look.

"You're going to Shane's, aren't you?"

My stomach dropped. Besides me, my mother was the only other person who knew about my crush on Shane. I didn't even tell her. It's like she has mother ESP, or something.

I bit my lip. "Well, yeah. How did you know?"

She pretended to be deep in thought. "Hon, you spent an hour trying on clothes, and then you come downstairs looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Go upstairs and change. You and Shane are friends even when you dress appropriately."

I rolled my eyes. "Exactly. We're friends."

My mom ignored my response. "You better go change. You're meeting him at six, right?"

Knowing I was fighting a losing battle, I trudged up the stairs, much to my mother's satisfaction.

* * *

My mind must have been somewhere else, because for some reason, I got lost on the way to Shane's house.

It's okay, I guess. After all, I've only been there fifty million times.

When I finally arrived, I ran to the door and tripped on the garden gnome in his yard that belonged to his brother, Jason. I must have sprained my ankle, because it was throbbing when I finally reached his porch.

I knocked on the door with urgency, although I don't really know why.

"You're late."

When Shane answered the door, I wasn't sure at first if he was angry or joking, or both. When he finally cracked a smile, a sense of relief came over me.

"Sorry. You won't believe this, but I actually got lost."

He laughed. "Knowing you? It doesn't surprise me."

I scowled and started walking in his house, heading toward his room. "Are your parents home?"

He must have noticed I was limping, because he answered my question with his own. "Mitchie, you tripped over the garden gnome again, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Mitch. Let me carry you upstairs. There's no way you'll make it up without help."

I paused for a second. That was the thing about Shane's house. It was ginormous. I mean, his dad is a real estate agent and his mom was an extremely successful accountant, so they could afford to have a nice house. But he was right. I could never make it upstairs with a sprained/possibly broken ankle.

I sighed. "Oh, alright."

He smirked. "Piggy back on me, Mitchie."

I laughed at his silliness and hopped on. When we arrived at his room, he let me down gently and laughed. "Geez Mitch, lay off the cheeseburgers."

I slapped his shoulder half jokingly. "Jerk."

"Oh, come on. I was only joking." He paused for a second, giving me a once-over, "By the way, you look nice."

Okay, so maybe my mother did know a thing or two about clothes. After having been exiled to my room to change, I put on a white t-shirt with a blue flowy tank top over it and my jeans. I had my hair pulled back in a half ponytail. I have to admit, it did look better.

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Shane."

He returned with a grin. "You're welcome. How was school today?"

"Shane, we have four classes and lunch together."

"Well, I mean besides that." He responded goofily.

"Fine, I guess. I think I epic failed my chemistry test today though."

"I think you epic fail at life, Mitch."

I pretended to be offended. "Wow, real mature."

"You know it."

There was an awkward pause before he talked again. "Will you listen to the song I wrote?"

"No."

I tried to keep a straight face, but I started laughing. "Of course I will, Shane."

He smiled genuinely. "Okay, good. It's kind of rough, but I think you'll like it."

Shane picked up his guitar and started to sing.

_Now I'm speechless_

_Over the edge of just breathless_

_I never thought it catch this_

_Lovebug again._

_Hopeless, head over heels in the moment_

_I never thought that I'd get hit_

_By this Lovebug again._

He cleared his throat when he was done. "It's not done, and that's only the chorus, but I think it's okay."

He probably thought I hated it, because I couldn't bring myself to say anything. But really, the song was beautiful. It's one thing that he can play, but it's just unfair that he can write great lyrics too. "It's…amazing, Shane."

He grinned. "Thanks." He put his guitar down and started playing with my hands. "Mitchie, I have to ask you something."

Taken aback by his sudden seriousness, I kept my cool. "Okay, what is it?"

He sighed. "I don't want it to change anything in our friendship, because I value it more than anything. So, just keep an open mind, okay?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Shane, what's this about?"

"Prom."

My heart started beating faster. "Okay…why does it concern me?"

"Like I said, I don't want our friendship to change, okay?"

Oh my gosh. He was going to ask me to prom. "Okay, I promise."

"Mitch, I've been thinking…"

_Thump. Thump. Thump. _My heart raced.

"And if it's okay with you, I was thinking about…"

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump_.

"…Asking Tess Tyler to prom."

_Thump._

**A/N: So a bit of a cliff-hanger. In the next chapter, I'll explain why Shane taking Tess to prom is a problem, as well as introduce Nate, Jason, and Caitlyn. I'll have another update in the next couple of days. Oh, and the song is Lovebug by the Jonas Brothers.**

**Review please! (:**

**-Caitlin!**


	3. Things I'll Never Say

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys! I went on spring break, had cheerleading tryouts, went to Colorado, and AP exams are coming up, so I've been super busy. But I hope this makes up for it!**

"You're kidding, right?"

My eyes were wide and full of surprise. How could Shane, of all people, ask the girl who single-handedly ruined my life to prom? I mean, I could care less if he asked me. Okay, that's a lie. But Tess Tyler? It makes me sick.

He couldn't look me in the eyes. It's a good thing because they were kind of watery. "No, Mitch, it's not a joke."

I was still in a state of disbelief. In tenth grade, I pretty much had no friends besides Shane and his brothers. So when I got nominated for homecoming court, I knew it had to be a joke. I wasn't going to tell people that, though. At the homecoming assembly, when we had to dress up nice, Tess was painting the set and spilled red paint all over my dress. She told everybody I had an "accident". I still hear people talking about it sometimes. I had never been so embarrassed in my entire life. I didn't even show up to homecoming the next day. Shane brought ice cream to my house and watched movies with me. So to think that he would ask her to prom is ludicrous to me.

"Shane, don't know remember what she did to me? What she put me through?"

He tried to grab my hand, but I flinched it away. "Mitch, she's different now. She's really sorry about what happened. She's over childish things like that."

"How did she 'change'? Did she get a freaking personality transplant? Let's be realistic here, Shane. She nominated me for homecoming court just to embarrass me in front of the entire school. She tells people rumors about me all the time. She hates my guts."

"Please be nice, Mitchie. I wouldn't let her say mean things about you."

Now I was angry. "That's because I never did anything to her! I never ruined her life!"

I'd never been this upset before. Shane, my best friend who, once upon a time, told me that Tess Tyler was evil and didn't deserve friends, was asking this original Wicked Witch of the West to prom. But I guess I didn't just feel betrayed- I was disappointed too.

"Mitch, I didn't want to tell you, but I really want you to accept this. Our friendship is really, really important to me, okay?"

I studied his face. As much as I wanted to get over it, I just couldn't. Tess didn't deserve Shane. And to think that he had fallen under her spell was tragic.

I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Okay, Shane. I'll try. I'm sure you're right."

Shane's face lit up. "Really? Mitchie, you don't even know what that means to me!"

He's right, I didn't. I tried my best to keep the smile on. "Shane, I have to go. It's a school night, and my mom will freak if I'm out past eight."

The grin on his face started to fade. I think he knew I was lying. "Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Do you want me to give you a ride to school? I can pick you up on my way to get Tess."

I tried my best to keep from throwing up. "Um, no thanks. I'll just drive myself. I'll see you in first period."

Before he could respond, I walked out of his room, leaving a very disappointed Shane behind.

**S&M**

As soon as I got home and into my room, the phone rang. I raced to pick it up.

"Hello?" I answered with a chipper voice.

"Mitchie?"

Oh, no. The voice on the other end was definitely not Shane. It was a male voice, one that I would know anywhere.

"Nate?"

"Yeah, it's me. You looked upset when you left tonight. Are you okay?"

That was the thing about Nate. He was one of the sweetest guys you would ever meet. He could always put a smile on my face when I'm down. He was like my brother. But I was pretty sure he knew about my crush on Shane, and that's probably why he called.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't lie, Mitchie. I know you're angry about Tess and Shane."

I sighed heavily. "I'm not angry. Just a little hurt, I guess."

"I know. When he told me he liked her, I was kind of shocked myself. I remember what she did to you, and how mad he was about it. But you know he loves you, Mitch."

"I know. And he's my best friend. I don't want to lose that over _Tess Tyler_."

"Mitchie, can I ask you something without you getting upset with me?"

I was leery about answering. "Sure, I guess."

"You like my brother, don't you?" Nate asked like he already knew the answer,

"What do you mean? He's my best friend."

He chuckled quietly. "Mitch, I think you know what I mean."

I didn't answer immediately. I knew Nate was going to find out sooner or later, but it was still embarrassing. I thought I had done a good job of hiding it.

"Yes, I do. And yeah, Nate, I do like your brother."

"I knew it. But don't worry, Shane doesn't have a clue." He said in a matter-of-fact voice.

I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about that. "Oh, well that's…good."

"If it's any consolation Mitchie, I think you're way better for him. And I'll keep it a secret, I swear."

"Um, thanks."

Nate cleared his throat. "Shane's kind of disappointed that you weren't happy for him."

I scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? Say 'Oh, Shane I am so happy that you're taking the girl who ruined my high school career to prom with you! I'm just ecstatic!' Yeah, no thanks." I said flatly.

"He's gonna be pissed if he finds out I'm talking to you. He wants to give you time to cool off before lunch tomorrow."

I was a little bit confused. "Um, what's going on at lunch?"

"_She_ is sitting at our table."

"Oh," I countered, "Great."

"Yeah I'm just _so_ excited. Listen, Mitchie, I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for calling Nate.."

"Yup. Bye."

After I hung up, I stared at the ceiling. Life shouldn't ever be this complicated.

**S&M**

I was dreading lunch the next day. Not just seeing Tess, but _Shane_ and Tess. _Together_.

I sat down with my salad and waited. Thankfully, Nate got there first.

"You ready?" He asked teasingly.

"Ha. No."

He tried to hide a laugh when Tess and Shane arrived together, his arm around her shoulder. I swallowed hard.

"Hi, Mitchie! Feeling better?" He grinned at me, looking hopeful.

I wanted to say no, but with that smile, I just couldn't. "Loads." I smiled wide.

"Good. So, Mitchie, Tess; Tess, Mitchie."

Tess threw him a smile. "Silly, we already know each other."

"Oh, right." His cheeks turned red, like he was embarrassed. Even though he knew fully well that we already knew each other.

"Mitchie, I just adore your top."

I looked down at it in surprise. Why was she complimenting me? "Um, thanks,"

"Yeah. I saw a knock-off of it at Ross. Can you imagine?"

Well, yes, I wanted to say, because I did get it at Ross. But I wanted to play nice, for Shane's sake.

"Never." I put a forkful of salad in my mouth before I could say anymore.

"So are you excited for prom, Mitchie?"

I almost choked on my food. "Actually, I don't even know if I'm going."

Tess gasped in surprise. "But you have to! It's senior prom!"

"Well," I said curtly, "I wanted to go with this one guy, but he asked someone else."

Nate laughed. "Wow, what a douche."

I giggled, and Shane looked confused. "Mitchie, who wouldn't want to go to prom with you?"

My heart sank, but I kept my game face on. "You don't know him. He goes to a different school."

"You want me to TALK to him for you, Mitch?" He said playfully.

"No thanks. He's pretty into the girl he's with right now."

His face fell. "I was only kidding, Mitchie. He's doesn't know what he's missing."

I smiled. "Don't I know it."

Tess pretended to be shocked. "Oh my goodness! I forgot to do my English homework. Shane, will you come to the library with me and help?"

Shane looked a little irritated, but he hid it well. "Yeah. I'll see you later, Mitch. Are we still on for the movies tonight?"

"Sure. Just you and me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

After he walked away, Nate looked at me. "You're a great actress, Mitchie."

I sighed and returned with a scowl. "Thanks."

The bell rang and I got up to go to class. Above everything, I was positive Tess was up to something. But I had to figure what it was.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry the ending wasn't so great. But I tried to make this longer for you guys! I developed Nate and Mitchie's friendship a little more, but don't worry. Nate and Mitchie will only be friends in this fic. Jason won't be in this story all that much since he's older than them, but I will have a chapter or two with him in it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please review! :)**

**-Caitlin**


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